Chapter 9
Tony was fidgeting in front of a door, trying to fix his shirt for the millionth time. The door had no right to look so intimidating, Tony thought. It was just a normal door, a piece of wood not unlike many he’s had to work with at times. It had unremarkable metal hinges and a shiny brass door knob that seemed to mock his very existence. He fixed his shirt again.
His boyfriend, that utter traitor, was laughing at his plight.
“Calm down Iron Man, you are going to meet my family, not the president of the country. You only have to be yourself, she already loves you from all my stories about you”
“But she is your mother,” Tony absolutely did not whine “She raised you so she must be a goddess, and-”
Tony’s rant was interrupted by the cursed door opening, and of course it was just his luck that Sally Jackson-Blofis was standing there with an amused smile in all her glory.
If only the ground would hurry up and swallow him now, thank you.
“While I am flattered you think so Mr.Stark, I would feel better if you would come in so it wouldn’t feel like we’re eavesdropping, you see, the doors aren’t that thick” She opened the door wider
Percy beside him lit up with the light of a thousand suns and hugged his mother for all he was worth, his larger frame somehow dwarfed in her embrace. She let out a joyous laugh that attracted an older man and a child who joined the impromptu cuddle session with just as much enthusiasm.
Tony teared up a little at the blatant display of love. He felt a small pang of jealousy knowing he had never experienced something like this.
Percy from in between pulled him also into the hug.
“You are part of this family too *fos mou”
His heart fluttered at the endearment.They walked inside, and his shirt was just fine.
It was apparently some sort of custom to eat Sally’s famous blue choco chip cookies every time Percy came over so Tony was also treated to the delicacy. It was not a surprise to see where his boyfriend’s culinary skills came from. The inventor was now convinced the Jackson- Blofis matriarch was some sort of goddess, nothing short of sorcery could produce something this delicious.
They ate around a small table in the living room. Estelle was babbling something seriously to her older brother with a lot of hand motions for him to better understand. Percy for his part was listening intently, nodding at appropriate points to show his understanding. Paul and Sally were looking fondly at their children. Tony had to admit, it was adorable.
“ and then Lisa asked Jenny to pass her pink sketchpens but Jenny couldn’t as she had given it to Andrew who was still drawing fairies and-”
“This is the third time she is narrating this to him” Sally told him, still not taking her eyes of the pair “She just loves talking to her brother and he loves listening to her, he just never gets tired”
Paul took her hand and smiled.
“I can tell you love him”
Tony looked startled
“It’s the way you look at him, like you can’t believe he’s real. It’s the same way he looks at you.”
Sally said “I can tell you are a good man Tony, take care of my son for me? He’s been through too much already”
Tony nodded, needing no time to make a promise he had already made to himself.
Percy and Sally were washing dishes.Estelle had decided Tony needed an art tutor. She had graciously decided to burden herself with the task. Tony apparently had been holding the crayon wrong so he was getting a long lesson on how to do that right.
“I’m so happy for you baby”
Percy looked at his mother drying the dishes beside him. He could see the lines drawn on her face by age, the stress and worry that had leeched the colour out of her beautiful brown eyes. He could also see the quiet strength in her slender arms and power in the way she held herself. She was truly a goddess, he often wondered how he ended up as her son.
Logically he knew his mother would support him in whatever he did, but her approval meant so much to him. He was never good with words so he tried to convey all this with a hug.
The warmth of the embrace that followed told him that his mother understood, just like she understood each and every cell that made up his entire being.
“That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Percy asked Tony from where he was snuggled beside him
They had returned back to stark tower an hour ago sufficiently armed with baked goods to last them a month. Sally, the amazing host that she is, refused to let them leave deprived of cookies.
After eating her food, Tony completely agreed. It would have been plain cruel to give them a taste without giving them enough to sustain them for a while, how could they ever eat anything else after that? They would simply starve to death.
Percy called him dramatic. Well, maybe a little, Tony agreed silently. They could after all still eat Percy’s food.
“It was wonderful. I stand by my initial assessment, Your mother is a goddess”
“I was unaware you are a demigod, Perseus” A new voice said from behind them.
Percy froze in his hand. Tony looked at him confused, feeling the tense muscles under his arm.
“I do did sense some unusual magic in your presence but assumed that was just your Midgardian nature as strong as it was” Thor continued, walking to the empty couch in front of them “I assume your parentage is of a different pantheon as I don’t recognize your aura”
“What are you yammering about point break?” Tony asked completely lost now
Thor shifted a little at the nickname but held his tongue. Good, he was getting used to this planet the inventor thought distractedly.
“Apologies if my actions were disrespectful but since you were discussing in a common area I assumed it wasn’t a private conversation. If it is not your wish to discuss Perseus’ parentage, we shall do it no longer”
Percy had relaxed a bit by now and gave Thor a strange smile. The travel must have drained him more than he let on, Tony noted, now a bit worried.
“You just misunderstood Thor” Percy said “Tony didn’t mean my mother is an actual goddess, like a being with ich-, umm divine power. He meant that he thought my mother was a great person, that’s all.”
“Ahh.. So it’s another one of those phrases not to be taken literally” Thor said nodding.
“Yup”
Percy settled closed to Tony his eyes slowly drifting shut.
Tony felt unsettled though, for some reason this entire conversation felt like he was missing some information.
What did Thor mean about the other pantheons? What other pantheons? And Percy's aura? Thor didn’t mention anything about auras till now. If he felt it before, why didn’t he mention it then?
Why did Percy tense up?
Something wasn’t adding up and Tony resolved to ask his boyfriend about it as soon as possible.